Cowboys @ Niners: NFC Divisional Round

[closetohumping 17484]

9 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Lulz. Romo and Dak have identical playoff records, 2-4. For that matter, their regular season winning percentage is about the same: Dak - 62.8%, Romo - 61.4%. 

Dak has played with better teams

[Hermanator 7190]

12 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Dak has played with better teams

Dak has had better defenses but worse offenses. Romo had great offensive lines, Dez, Witten in his prime, etc. 

Once Pollard went down all this team had was Lamb. Gallup was a bad contract and no one behind him did anything. The problem with Dak is he needs elite level guys around him like he had in 2016 when he played well in that divisional game and they put up 30 pts. But to do that you aren't putting the resources in the defense and the defense will get worse. 

This is why I think paying a QB so much is insanity unless he's prime level Peyton Manning or Brady where he takes guys that are nobodies and makes them playoff performers. Dak can't do that. He isn't making an Edelman an all pro and a Chris Hogan a big time playoff performer. 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

I'm actually okay with the decision to pay Dak simply based on how poorly the NFL and Jerry Jones is in particular at drafting QBs.  Yes, Dak is basically Kirk Cousins at this point, but I have zero confidence in the Jones clan identifying, drafting, and coaching up another qb to league average level in the next 5-10 years, if not longer.

Cousins is better. 

[TonyTexas 10535]

Mad respect for the Cowboys’ social media department for telling it like it is. I’m sure the person who wrote this tweet will easily find a job when Jerry fires them this morning. 

 

[Trey3216 15379]

11 hours ago, Longboard Horn said:

This aged well….

About as well as them titties are gonna age.  

[Hagbard Celine 10938]

more than a chance to win

should have won

jerry will continue to maintain dak is a franchise qb

but it doesn't matter because the local dallas media will continue to parrot the party line

dak is not even danny white, loser of 3 NFC Championship games in a row

roger lost 2 in a row between super bowl VI and X

dak can't even get to the NFC title game

[Trey3216 15379]

2 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Jerry will use that fracture to keep Zeke.

They will low ball pollard and lose him. Will a team pay him $10 mil to be a part time back? He doesn’t like being a 30 carry workhorse. He is low mileage though. We are over spent on RBs. Let them both go. They are dime a dozen.

This team has a patchy OL the frankly did better than I thought Joe Philbin capable of. Besides Martin it’s a mess. Is Tyron Smith going to be ok or not? 73 shows lots of promise and is mean as fuck. Need a center and a couple more.

Why can’t our WRs get open? Is it the players, or simple routes from Moore that enable LBs to cover CeeDee? Need another stud; Gallup we are stuck with.

Maher has to go. That miss meant something to game strategy the rest of the game. Keeping him was stupid.

Defense. The new DC must protect Parsons and get him back to LB and off the line. Put Diggs in the slot and get two studs and we need a bad ass. Diggs is on a rookie deal. Tell him he needs to go to tackling school or he’ll go somewhere else. He ain’t that good these days.

Change is come if to the D. But 23 can’t be another chapter of the Kellen moore show. Please feel the his ass. We’ve seen his best and it ain’t good enough. Jerry forced McCarthy to keep him as he thought he had his own version of a hotshot new version OC. Instead he drove up to the Ferrari convention with a Karmann-Ghia.

CeeDee gets open just fine.  You had an All-Pro LB that was making a deep coverage drop (and was beaten) and Dak went there (and didn't put enough air under the ball, should've been thrown to the goal line with more air) rather than throwing to a wide ass open Noah Brown who was 10 yards behind the other LB and 7 yards in front of the deep safety.  

[ztejas 43558]

49 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

Dak has had better defenses but worse offenses. Romo had great offensive lines, Dez, Witten in his prime, etc. 

Dak has had some monster O lines...

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

Dak is a headcase and it's hopeless. The fat contract made him lose his mental edge, or maybe something in his personal life.   

Dallas should get Max Duggan as QB2 and maybe he can develop as a Purdy. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

[Brothahorn 10087]

Buffalo and Minnesota don't jibe with what he is trying to say.

[closetohumping 17484]

28 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Dak has had some monster O lines...

And I know I just spent five posts dissing the shit out of zeke but who were romos running backs?

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1549]

1 minute ago, closetohumping said:

And I know I just spent five posts dissing the shit out of zeke but who were romos running backs?

Murray was pretty good

[closetohumping 17484]

16 minutes ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Dallas could use a guy like Amari Cooper

[ConferenceRoom 6147]

Princeton could use a guy like Joel. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

19 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

Buffalo and Minnesota don't jibe with what he is trying to say.

Think as a whole the Eagles, 49ers, and Bengals have more weapons than the Bills and Vikings. Theilen is not as good as a few years ago.

Dak was trash but after Tony Pollard went down it was pretty much just Lamb as far as dynamic weapons. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

If Stafford makes the Hall of Fame for having a strong arm and almost an entire career throwing against prevent defenses for large chunks of games and Tommy Nobis still gets punished for playing for the fucking Falcons they might as well close the place down. That’s the sports equivalent of a rock and roll Hall of Fame that includes Dolly Parton but not Iron Maiden. 

Awful timing for Pollard. The Arkansas reptile will probably use it as an excuse to cast him aside. When your $40M anchor gets outplayed by a guy who’s only out there by necessity, not desire, you’ve built your house on sand. 

[Tex Long 4463]

I confess, I've not paid much attention to NFL in general, or Cowboys in particular, in many years. The last few weeks, with the college games gone, have left only the pros to look at or care about. I watched the Cowboys-49ers game with the attitude that McCarthy would keep it close, but ultimately find a way to lose, so I was not particularly disappointed in the result.

There're always some WTF calls by any given coach in almost every game, so I tend to ignore most of those. This game wasn't egregiously badly called.

My real issues are with Prescott and Elliott. Dak just does completely brain-dead things several times a game, mostly involving a receiver covered by two or three defenders and Dak throws it straight to one of the defenders when the only real option is to throw it away or re-target. If it's only a time or two, Dallas can survive. 

But when you lose the only decent running back you brought, and your Fifty Million Dollar Man has to play, but either can't or doesn't, you're in serious trouble and the WTF turnovers push you over the precipice of Jerrah into the Long Fall.

What's wrong with Zeke? As I said, I haven't paid much attention, so I was assuming he's just old and/or hurt, and I had leaned toward Old simply because he was moving so slowly and showed no real enthusiasm. Is he actually hurt, or has he had all the Jerrah he needs in one lifetime? I was shocked to see he's 27 years old - to me, he should be at his prime, kicking asses and taking names. On the other hand he's already about doubled the average playing career of RBs, so...

Cheering for Dak is like cheering for the autistic kid down the block, who gets to play QB on the Varsity for one play on Homecoming. He is - sorta, kinda - on the team, and usually it's a win if he gets his pads on frontward and makes it to the practice field. This day, it's all perfect, and he's taking the first snap, which he actually catches. But he gets bumped in the mesh, spins around, and runs 25 yards for a safety. The dads and brothers are trying not to cry, and cheering half-heartedly; the moms and sisters are jumping up and down, cheering wildly, but unsure on whether what happened was a Good Thing or a Bad Thing.

Let's ask Jerrah.

[Billy Pilgrim 1985]

7 hours ago, Horn80 said:

Since his contract, Zeke been.nothing more than a FB that is paid like elite RB.  Dak is also paid as elite QB but is  2-4 in playoffs and just lost to a rookie.  Cowboys are cloaked in failure because Jones.

They are about to pay Schultz like an elite TE when he’s average at best. The problem is that he stands out on a team of nobodies like Gallup, Brown, Hendershot, etc. it’s not like he’s kittles or kelce out there.

 

“Good” running backs are a dime a dozen if you have a good OL which is why I’m against paying a lot to keep Pollard too.

[closetohumping 17484]

9 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

If Stafford makes the Hall of Fame for having a strong arm and almost an entire career throwing against prevent defenses for large chunks of games and Tommy Nobis still gets punished for playing for the fucking Falcons they might as well close the place down. That’s the sports equivalent of a rock and roll Hall of Fame that includes Dolly Parton but not Iron Maiden. 

Awful timing for Pollard. The Arkansas reptile will probably use it as an excuse to cast him aside. When your $40M anchor gets outplayed by a guy who’s only out there by necessity, not desire, you’ve built your house on sand. 

Robb Parker calls him Stat Padford.  
 

 

 

Back on topic, I’d try to keep Pollard but would definitely not break the bank.  Also Gallup was a great 3 but maybe not a good 2.  I think cossell said he didn’t think Lamb was a great 1.  

[DougO 5257]

The top four teams are in the final NFL four. Dallas was close, but they weren't good enough. They're probably tied with Buffalo for the top 5 teams. If they had managed to pull out a win they weren't likely going to win the NFC title or the Superbowl full healthy. With Pollard out they had zero chance to advance. Just not enough weapons left.

As far as Dak, everybody seems to think their team is entitled to an elite quarterback. Well, San Fran ain't got one, either. There's only one Mahomes and one Burrow. There's no path to getting one like that other than getting incredibly lucky with a fluke draft pick that pans out like nobody ever expected. Deal with it. They got Dak with a 4th round pick, and they're getting tremendous value. They just don't have enough around him, or a staff that can figure out how to lessen his weaknesses and play to his strengths. 

I've never been a Pollyanna sunshine pumper fan, but I'm well over having typical shithead fan deluded expectations. The Cowboys had a better season than most anyone expected. They got about as far as they could with the team and staff they have.

[DougO 5257]

The Cowboys may let Zeke go and take a substantial but not totally killer cap hit. But that hit would be half as much the following year. I think the Cowboys will keep him one more season and probably franchise Pollard and hope to get him signed long term. That means they may let Schultz walk without the tag for bigger money and go with their younger TEs, and that's probably a reasonable move. The Cowboys should draft a running back they think can be a load guy with pass pro ability,  probably 3rd or 4th round and start working him in to start by 2024. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

3 minutes ago, DougO said:

The top four teams are in the final NFL four. Dallas was close, but they weren't good enough. They're probably tied with Buffalo for the top 5 teams. If they had managed to pull out a win they weren't likely going to win the NFC title or the Superbowl full healthy. With Pollard out they had zero chance to advance. Just not enough weapons left.

As far as Dak, everybody seems to think their team is entitled to an elite quarterback. Well, San Fran ain't got one, either. There's only one Mahomes and one Burrow. There's no path to getting one like that other than getting incredibly lucky with a fluke draft pick that pans out like nobody ever expected. Deal with it. They got Dak with a 4th round pick, and they're getting tremendous value. They just don't have enough around him, or a staff that can figure out how to lessen his weaknesses and play to his strengths. 

I've never been a Pollyanna sunshine pumper fan, but I'm well over having typical shithead fan deluded expectations. The Cowboys had a better season than most anyone expected. They got about as far as they could with the team and staff they have.

If he’d played like a reasonably competent NFL QB, Dallas’ season wouldn’t be over for another week. 

“Value” is a function of price and utility. His price is outrageous. His utility is somewhat above average, overall, but there’s too much variability between “Good Dak” and “Bad Dak” for him to be relied upon. 

[DougO 5257]

Just now, Doc Daneeka said:

If he’d played like a reasonably competent NFL QB, Dallas’ season wouldn’t be over for another week. 

“Value” is a function of price and utility. His price is outrageous. His utility is somewhat above average, overall, but there’s too much variability between “Good Dak” and “Bad Dak” for him to be relied upon. 

Then get another one. What you got?

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Just now, DougO said:

Then get another one. What you got?

 

I haven’t seen the 7th round draft board yet. 

[DougO 5257]

Zeke still gets a lot of snaps because of pass protection. People don't realize what a huge deal that is in the NFL. A lot of really good young runners don't get many carries because they get the qb killed or can't contribute enough in other ways. And there are quite a few guys who aren't that great a ball carrier that get a lot of snaps because they are good at pass pro.

[Brew 3049]

6 minutes ago, DougO said:

The top four teams are in the final NFL four. Dallas was close, but they weren't good enough. They're probably tied with Buffalo for the top 5 teams. If they had managed to pull out a win they weren't likely going to win the NFC title or the Superbowl full healthy. With Pollard out they had zero chance to advance. Just not enough weapons left.

As far as Dak, everybody seems to think their team is entitled to an elite quarterback. Well, San Fran ain't got one, either. There's only one Mahomes and one Burrow. There's no path to getting one like that other than getting incredibly lucky with a fluke draft pick that pans out like nobody ever expected. Deal with it. They got Dak with a 4th round pick, and they're getting tremendous value. They just don't have enough around him, or a staff that can figure out how to lessen his weaknesses and play to his strengths. 

I've never been a Pollyanna sunshine pumper fan, but I'm well over having typical shithead fan deluded expectations. The Cowboys had a better season than most anyone expected. They got about as far as they could with the team and staff they have.

They got tremendous value, they are no longer getting tremendous value. At the point in time an extension kicks in, draft status no longer matters in the discussion. His cap hit is right around $50M each year the next two years, that is not continued value and also will further exacerbate the lack of talent around him which he can’t overcome and play his way around.

[DougO 5257]

1 minute ago, Doc Daneeka said:

I haven’t seen the 7th round draft board yet. 

Then get all the weapons that the 49ers have to take the load off. 

[ztejas 43558]

11 minutes ago, DougO said:

They just don't have enough around him, or a staff that can figure out how to lessen his weaknesses and play to his strengths. 

You're right. He just needs Torry Holt, Marshal Faulk, the '85 Bears D and Bill Belicheck. That way the team around him should be able to survive his 6-7 WTF plays every game. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

3 minutes ago, DougO said:

Then get all the weapons that the 49ers have to take the load off. 

Poor, weaponless Dallas. Even without weapons, you need a QB who doesn’t hit the red jerseys when you’re wearing white ones. 

“Yeah, I know I made some awful decisions and bad throws, but I’d stop doing that if I had Samuels, Kittle, and McCaffrey.” Not likely. 

[Cairn Horn88 8287]

[DougO 5257]

2 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Dak has played with better teams

And fans said mostly the same shit about Romo for years until he retired and everyone cried about it, and suddenly he was viewed as a great quarterback.

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Romo was very good but never elite and always choked in big spots. More talented than Dak but who cares if the results were not different.

[Hate 20149]

Who in the hell thinks Romo was a great QB?? He was good, but sucked in the playoffs when it mattered.

[Nicole44 22079]

When the common denominator is always Jerruh who just wants to prove he can win a SB without Jimmy Johnson (Switzer doesn’t count and we know this and even Double J knows this…) 27 years right? Handpicked HCs…many of the weapons on offense and defense and we don’t believe in drafting certain positions. I thought we did well enough to make the division finals and win but would get creamed in the NFC championship. I mostly blame Jerruh. He looked “sickened” last night and is I am sure ready to do…something about it. But the truth is he can’t figure it out. Rams, SF, Fecals have all made the SB and the NFC playoffs with different QBs and rosters and Double J still holding his dick and fondling his glory hole. Sure the Patriots took up the bulk of the space of the winning the SBs the last two decades or being in them. We haven’t been to an NFC Championship and it is beyond apparent the brain trust of the Cowboys can’t get there without a legit front office not controlled by the Jones clan. If JJ was really sincere about winning no matter the cost (his ego and delusions) he’d hire a competent GM and such to run the organization. 

[6th Street 6508]

Dallas just ran into a better Niners team. There is no shame in losing 19-12 in the second round to an opponent with superior talent at most positions. They neutralized the Niner run game and largely held Bosa in check.

For Dallas, losing Pollard was a huge blow. Zeke sucks and those guys like Gallup and Schultz are tier 2 assets. Need to draft a Jordan Addison or something. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

2 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Dallas just ran into a better Niners team. There is no shame in losing 19-12 in the second round to an opponent with superior talent at most positions. They neutralized the Niner run game and largely held Bosa in check.

For Dallas, losing Pollard was a huge blow. Zeke sucks and those guys like Gallup and Schultz are tier 2 assets. Need to draft a Jordan Addison or something. 

All of that may well be true, but switch QBs and Dallas is still playing. 

Championship QBs rarely throw away a winnable game. That’s why they’re championship QBs and a part of why others aren’t. 

[HamsterHookah 112]

I'll ask again, because I think it actually would matter:

If the Cowboys were to sign a healthy OBJ (instead of TY Hilton on the cheap) for this playoff run, do we beat the Niners?

I think you could make the case yes. He is a vertical threat (the one weakness of the Niners D was their secondary and giving up big secondary plays, yet we couldn't test them) and he's a playmaker who thrives on the big stage.

Was it a strategic misfire to not hire the mercenary for the exact moments like last night?

I assume he is healthy because the talk track was always "will not play in the regular season but will be 100% ready for playoffs"

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Just now, HamsterHookah said:

I'll ask again, because I think it actually would matter:

If the Cowboys were to sign a healthy OBJ (instead of TY Hilton on the cheap) for this playoff run, do we beat the Niners?

I think you could make the case yes. He is a vertical threat (the one weakness of the Niners D was their secondary and giving up big secondary plays, yet we couldn't test them) and he's a playmaker who thrives on the big stage.

Was it a strategic misfire to not hire the mercenary for the exact moments like last night?

I assume he is healthy because the talk track was always "will not play in the regular season but will be 100% ready for playoffs"

No.

[BurntOrange&White 40050]

1 hour ago, Billy Pilgrim said:

They are about to pay Schultz like an elite TE when he’s average at best. The problem is that he stands out on a team of nobodies like Gallup, Brown, Hendershot, etc. it’s not like he’s kittles or kelce out there.

 

“Good” running backs are a dime a dozen if you have a good OL which is why I’m against paying a lot to keep Pollard too.

Jerry always pays players he shouldn't and doesn't pay players he should....

[HamsterHookah 112]

3 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

No.

If you say it so decidedly and emphatically, I assume it's because you think having Dak as the QB meant no amount of playmaker would have swung the game our way. e.g. Dak would just throw INTs trying to get it to OBJ in his inaccurate way.

[BurntOrange&White 40050]

8 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

No.

Disagree. If Cowboys had a healthy OBJ they'd not be in a bad of a situation when Pollard went down. The Cowboys two most dynamic players are Pollard and Lamb. 

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Disagree. If Cowboys had a healthy OBJ they'd not be in a bad of a situation when Pollard went down. The Cowboys two most dynamic players are Pollard and Lamb. 

 

OK. We don’t agree. I saw no evidence of a QB who was going to make it matter but you did. We’ll never know. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

49ers have almost taken three different QBs to a Super Bowl in the last decade.

Coaching and talent around the QB matters. Not really a defense of Dak. He's overpaid.

[Nicole44 22079]

We would absolutely out up more points with more elite weapons. But having an OBJ wouldn’t have (imo) kept Dak from two INTs and a few other wtf incompletions and almost picks. Not sure OBJ is all that healthy and not even sure he’d have played in the post season. He wants some long term contract and to start next season I think if I read the many articles about him correctly. The good news is that we will still be in the mix in our division and at least good enough in the NFC for a wildcard. The bad news is Jerruh is in charge. Dak with 7 years in the league still does dumb shit. Zeke is toast. Lamb needs a great WR to be paired with and so on…if Micah Parsons doesn’t take the work ethic thing seriously he could flame out after a spectacular season or two. We can get Dak weapons…I’d prefer being known for defense and a run game and NOT asking Dak to throw more than 20 times a game. If we had a great RB tandem we could do this and if we had another great WR to pair with Lamb it might work. But Dak has to stop doing dumb shit and I’m not sure that he can. We need an identity and if we are stuck with Dak let’s load up on defense in the next two drafts and add a great WR and RB or two and maybe slot receiver and a TE. Need to draft a backup QB. If we are stuck with Dak let’s try at least be known for defense which we have a core to be able to do. And then when it’s cost effective to part ways with Dak PLEASE draft a QB in the first round. Also draft a CB. Ok thanks…

[BurntOrange&White 40050]

2 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

OK. We don’t agree. I saw no evidence of a QB who was going to make it matter but you did. We’ll never know. 

Playcalling completely changed when Pollard went down. It took a big part of what made the Cowboys so sucesful this season away. They tried to use Lamb similar but they didn't have weapons anywhere else. Regardless of Dak's interceptions he they still were in the game and had the opportunity to win. Arguing that having more weapons wouldn't help is pure stupid.

Edited January 23, 2023 by BurntOrange&White

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

7 minutes ago, HamsterHookah said:

If you say it so decidedly and emphatically, I assume it's because you think having Dak as the QB meant no amount of playmaker would have swung the game our way. e.g. Dak would just throw INTs trying to get it to OBJ in his inaccurate way.

Yeah, I think Prescott was the weak link. It was the Hyde version on Sunday and, short of beating the 49ers’ asses on the ground, Dallas wasn’t going to win without a defensive score. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Just now, BurntOrange&White said:

Playcalling completely changed when Pollard went down. It took a big part of what made the Cowboys so sucesful this season away. They tried to use Lamb similar but they didn't have weapons anywhere else. Regardless of Dak's interceptions he they still were in the game and had the opportunity to win. 

How many points did Dallas have when Pollard got hurt?

[BurntOrange&White 40050]

1 minute ago, Doc Daneeka said:

How many points did Dallas have when Pollard got hurt?

That's irrelevent. They were playinig one of the best defenses in the league. Pollard going out and changing how the game is called offensively is the big deal here. They only had Lamb after that.

[Augustus 3061]